• → European Space Agency

      • Space for Europe
      • Space News
      • Space in Images
      • Space in Videos
    • About Us

      • Welcome to ESA
      • DG's news and views
      • For Member State Delegations
      • Business with ESA
      • Law at ESA
      • ESA Exhibitions
      • ESA Publications
      • Careers at ESA
      • ESAshop
    • Our Activities

      • Space News
      • Observing the Earth
      • Human Spaceflight
      • Space Transportation
      • Navigation
      • Space Science
      • Space Engineering & Technology
      • Operations
      • Telecommunications & Integrated Applications
      • Preparing for the Future
    • Careers at ESA

    • For Media

      • Media
      • ESA TV
      • Videos for professionals
      • Photos
    • For Educators

    • For Kids

    • ESA

    • Observing the Earth

    • SMOS

    • ESA's water mission
    • Introducing SMOS
    • Science in focus
    • Earth's water cycle
    • Mapping moisture
    • Sensing salinity
    • Surpassing expectations
    • About the mission
    • Facts and figures
    • Novel technology
    • Satellite
    • About the launch
    • Operations and data
    • Data flow
    • Data products
    • Essential groundwork
    • Multimedia
    • Image gallery
    • Video gallery
    • Downloads
    • Documents and publications

    ESA > Our Activities > Observing the Earth > SMOS

    Soil moisture analysis

    Water mission versatility

    12 September 2013

    While ESA’s SMOS satellite continues to provide key information on soil moisture and ocean salinity for a better understanding of the water cycle, Living Planet Symposium participants in Edinburgh today heard how the mission is also set to improve weather forecasts.

    Carrying a novel radiometer that works at 1400–1427 MHz, SMOS captures images of ‘brightness temperature’ to derive information on soil moisture and ocean salinity.

    Integrating these accurate near-realtime observations into the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts’ (ECMWF) system is helping to improve air temperature and humidity forecasts.

    This is particularly true for the northern hemisphere during summer months – there is more land than in the southern hemisphere and soil moisture dynamics are higher.

    In addition, the inclusion of SMOS observations are helping to improve the prediction of rain.

    SMOS was built primarily to deliver important information for scientific research, but this example shows how its data are now also being used operationally, and for something we all rely on – weather forecasts.

    It has, however, been no mean feat incorporating SMOS data into the forecasting system.

    Flood waters in Germany

    ESA’s Matthias Drusch said, “Anticipating the introduction of SMOS near-realtime observations into the most powerful data assimilation and forecasting system on Earth is a project that has taken 10 years.

    “It has meant major revisions of the data-handling procedures, task scheduling and the implementation of a new dedicated data assimilation system.

    “Thanks to our cooperation with ECMWF, all these efforts have been very worthwhile as the results offer true socio-economic value.”

    Initial research at ECMWF has also indicated that the SMOS observations can have a positive effect on the monitoring of the net ecosystem exchange of carbon dioxide and, subsequently, the terrestrial carbon cycle.

    Soil moisture observations from SMOS mission have also demonstrated their value for flood prediction.

    For example, just prior to torrential rains that hit central Europe in May, which led to catastrophic floods, observations from SMOS had shown record levels of soil moisture.

    Loading...
    SMOS tracks hurricane Igor
    Access the video

    Over the oceans, SMOS is not only providing essential information on the saltiness of surface waters, which are leading to a better knowledge of ocean circulation, but the mission also has the potential to help improve hurricane forecasts.

    “SMOS observations of brightness temperature is a totally new source of information for tracking hurricanes,” said Nicolas Reul from Ifremer.

    “We can’t actually use observations from under hurricanes to measure ocean salinity because of the effect that surface roughness and foam have on the brightness temperature signal.

    “However, we can make use of this effect to estimate wind speed just above the ocean surface.

    “This could potentially lead to better forecasts of hurricane strength and direction, thereby helping to make better predictions of where a hurricane may make landfall, which of course is what people want to know.”

    SMOS took centre stage today at the Living Planet Symposium, shining as a truly versatile mission.

    It is fulfilling its scientific objectives, but offering much more. Along with these examples, this multifunctional mission is also providing new information on sea ice and permafrost.

    Rate this

    Views

    Share

    • Currently 4.5 out of 5 Stars.
    • 1
    • 2
    • 3
    • 4
    • 5
    Rating: 4.6/5 (26 votes cast)

    Thank you for rating!

    You have already rated this page, you can only rate it once!

    Your rating has been changed, thanks for rating!

    1760
    Tweet

    Related articles

    Taking two bites at ocean salinity 22 April 2013

    Taking two bites at ocean salinity 22 April 2013 The saltiness of the oceans is being closely monitored from space by both ESA’s SMOS and NASA’s Aquarius missions, but in slightly different ways. By joining forces, researchers are exploiting these complementary missions to benefit climate science...

    Hurricane Sandy from SMOS

    Super storm tracked by ESA water mission09 November 2012

    Hurricane Sandy from SMOS

    Super storm tracked by ESA water mission09 November 2012 When millions of people are bracing themselves for the onslaught of extreme weather, as much information as possible is needed to predict the strength of the impending storm. ESA’s SMOS mission again showed its versatility by capturing unique measurem...

    • Living Planet 2016
    • Earth observation
    • SMOS in orbit
      SMOS in orbit
      SMOS
    • Related links
    • European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts
    • CESBIO–SMOS blog
    • SMAP
    • Ifremer
    • Aquarius
    • App Store
    • Subscribe
    • mobile version
    • ESA Observing the Earth Twitter

    @ESA_EO

    • LATEST ARTICLES
    • · Gaia creates richest star map of o…
    • · ESA teams ready for space
    • · Space smash: simulating when satel…
    • · Sentinel-3B on launch pad
    • · Walking on the Moon – underwater
    • FAQ

    • Site Map

    • Contacts

    • Terms and conditions